//------------------------------// // I. The Sound of Silence // Story: Twilight of the Idols // by Ponisattva //------------------------------// Twilight of the Idols I. The Sound of Silence They had shambled out of the forest, shivering, silent and disorganized. Though the sky was clear and blue, none of them could feel any warmth from the sun. Their hearts were cold and empty. Whether it was sleep deprivation or loss, it didn’t matter: they were cold and numb. Nopony had spoken the whole walk home. Even the Everfree forest (at least what was left it and hadn’t been bombed out by the marring of the world) had been as silent as grave. Ponyville at least hummed with some activity. Ponies here and there tried to patch up their damaged homes, or find other refuge from the cold. Even with the scale of the devastation, though, they remained blissfully unaware of what had really happened. And nopony, Twlight least of all, had the heart to tell them. Victory had never been so bittersweet. The six adventurers parted wordlessly, and headed for their respective homes. Twilight found the library more or less intact. Spike excitedly greeted her at the door, but his chipper died upon seeing the melancholy look on Twilight’s face. “Twilight…what happened?” he asked. In truth, no words needed to be said. The look on Twilight’s face, and her posture, said everything that needed to be said. Talking without speaking would have to do for now. She brushed past him, and buried herself under the covers in her bedroom. She then cried herself to sleep. Her dreams were haunted by her failure; Discord would trick her over and over again, and each time she’d see the same face of unbridled madness, as the world ripped itself apart. It was being so totally outwitted that ate at her. Twilight had prided herself on her intelligence, and her quick thinking. And yet, she had ignored every sign and every pang of doubt. She played directly into Discord’s hand, and he had won. The Elements were gone, and so was Celestia. That was the worst part: that she had failed her mentor and friend so thoroughly. Celestia had trusted her with something so important, and she still blew it. Now everyone would pay the price. Because the worst was still to come. Twilight awoke with a start. She felt clammy, dripping with cold sweat, and disorientated. The memory of the nightmares slowly evaporated. “I’m in Ponyville…” she said to herself, not caring if anyone was listening. She felt an overwhelming sense of urgency. She bolted to the window, looking out to see the slowly setting sun of a later winter afternoon. Any urge she had to go back to sleep died. She had a job to do. She bathed quickly, ignoring her hunger. After bathing, she quickly threw on a scarf, and dashed out the door. Gathering the rest of her friends took some coaxing. Everyone was exhausted by the ordeal, and no one had gotten quite enough rest. Rainbow Dash in particular took quite a bit of “convincing” to get out of bed. Nevertheless, she assembled them all back at the library in short order, along with Spike. The sun set, all on its own; chased across the sky by the rising of the moon. As dusk swept across Ponyville, the six settled in front of the fireplace in the library. Twilight and Spike prepared hot cocoa for the group as they sleepily kibitzed with one another. It was entirely idle chit-chat, and though they all pretended it was out of tiredness, the real reason they were speaking without talking was the feeling of emptiness and defeat in all their hearts. Twilight Sparkle finally broke the ice, as she settled in nearest to the fire. “Girls…we need to talk about last night.” Rainbow Dash groaned, “What’s there to talk about, egghead? We got suckered into Discord’s plan, and now the princesses are gone, probably forever.” Trying to change the subject didn’t help though. Dash’s heart was on her sleeve. “Dash,” Twilight soothed, “I know you feel guilty about what happened…that you feel like you betrayed Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. We all do. I lost a mentor and a best friend. But I know that she wouldn’t want me to blame myself.” “Yeah, I reckon you’re right about that, Twilight,” Applejack drawled. “Dash, you have to remember, it was Discord who was guilty. It was his plan, after all. We may have played into it, but what else could we have done? I mean, it’s like Twilight said going into this: we simply couldn’t do nothing. Sure, our plan backfired…” “And quite spectacularly, I might add,” Rarity interrupted. They all shuddered, remembering their front row seats to the end of the world. “As I was saying,” Applejack continued, glaring at Rarity, “It may have backfired, but we really had no choice but to confront him. We didn’t have the means to stop him without the Elements of Harmony, and there was no way anypony could have known, least of all us, that he could have sabotaged them.” “I guess you’re right, AJ.” Rainbow Dashed smiled. Applejack could always talk sense to her, whether she was feeling down in the dumps, or if her ego was getting the better of her. “And, I have to admit, Celestia and Luna looked sooooo awesome!” Fluttershy looked up from her half-finished cocoa, nervously checking everypony else to make sure she wasn’t butting into the conversation or cutting anypony off before she replied. “Well… I suppose I have to agree. I mean, at first I was frightened by them when they appeared. Especially Luna, since she looked so much like Nightmare Moon. But they were friendly to us, and they stopped Discord.” “Stopped him effortlessly,” Pinkie Pie replied with unusual solemnity. “I guess I always took it for granted that they raised the sun and the moon, but until now I never really stopped to think just how much of an effort that would be. And even then, they were holding back so much of their power. We got a glimpse of just how powerful they really were.” She smiled a big bright grin, “I guess that really was something special to see. Like a Sonic Rainboom.” They all nodded in agreement. “Oh my goodness!” Rarity suddenly exclaimed. “What is it?” Fluttershy asked. “I could kick myself for not thinking about this until now,” she said, dramatically placing her hoof on her forehead. “Are we not the only ponies who actually know what went on? I certainly didn’t have the heart or the sense to tell anypony in Ponyville why a star almost flattened the whole town, or why the world was crumbling down around them. I’ll bet the people back in Canterlot are all panicking because they can’t find either of the princesses. She’s been gone all of last night, and all of today. I’m sure she has court duties, and her absence will be noted.” “That’s actually why I gathered everypony here, Rarity.” Twilight let herself smile about her diligence and foresight before continuing. “I already worked some of the details out with Spike. We’re going to have to go to Canterlot, and inform Celestia’s Privy Council about what happened to her. But first, there’s some things we need to find out. And they’re all in the Canterlot castle.” “Like what?” Dash quipped as she sprawled out on the hardwood floor. “Luna said that the answers to all my questions would be in her and Celestia’s private quarters. I suppose it makes sense that they’d prepare for an eventuality like this. And I have a lot of questions.” Rarity nodded in agreement. “Yes. There were some things that Celestia said that I just didn’t understand. I would really like to know more about them. Like when she spoke of ‘the six of us’: she certainly wasn’t talking about us. I’m guessing she means herself, Luna, and four others. Maybe they know of a way to bring her back.” “Exactly!” Twilight shouted excitedly, “See girls, all hope isn’t lost. We just need to sit down and think through problems some times.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at that comment, but Twilight continued, pretending she didn’t notice. “I’ve booked an overnight train for us to get to Canterlot. It took a bit of negotiating, but when I told the manager of the local train station that I was Celestia’s personal student, and that I had important news for Canterlot about the disturbances, he quickly decided to pull in some favors and make it happen.” “I must say, you’ve really outdone yourself, darling. When do we leave?” “From what the manager said, it’ll be about two hours from now before we can leave. Pack well; I don’t know how long we’ll be staying. Spike has agreed to help take care of any things you girls might need done while we’re gone, like taking care of pets and such.” The train that had been prepared for them was admittedly spartan. The locomotive sported a single passenger car and a caboose, and they were lucky to have any blankets for the beds in the car. But it was all that was necessary for the special trip to Canterlot. The light load would help it plow through the thick snows laid by the developing blizzard on the path between Canterlot and Ponyville. The journey started off uneventfully. And once the heater in the sleeper car got going, and the temperature became comfortable, the six ponies decided to turn in, still tired from the all-nighter and the battle with Discord. Twilight snuggled into her bunk, gazing out the frosty window at the bright full moon. It felt strange leaving for Canterlot knowing that she wouldn’t be visiting her mentor. Strange and depressing. Unlike when she stumbled into Ponyville that morning in a groggy daze, she couldn’t count on just passing out quickly and mercifully to spare her from her nagging thoughts. She dwelt on her loss, and couldn’t escape the bombardment of what-ifs and if-onlys, as she refought the battle against Discord over and over again in her head. “How many times do I have feel the Elements of Harmony shattering?” she asked herself, “How many times must I feel the heartbreak of the corruption of the magic? Or the look on Discord’s face when the world was falling down around him?” She didn’t answer her questions. Nor could she. That wasn’t the only thing that bothered her though. Though she didn’t want to admit it to anyone, seeing Celestia at her full power and all her burning vengeance had frightened Twilight Sparkle to her very core. Twilight had always known that Celestia was powerful; far more powerful than Twilight could have ever hoped to become. But nothing could have prepared her for seeing her kind, nurturing mentor after the destruction of the Elements of Harmony had unsealed all of her raw power. Enough to shake the very pillars of the earth, and unmake the fabric of existence by accident. Twilight had remembered reading about the old gods of the old pony civilizations. The war gods of the pegasi tribes were still remembered faintly in legends of great deeds from the ancient past. The unicorn’s old gods of dreams and prophecy were occasionally borrowed in literature, and it wasn’t uncommon for a unicorn family to name their son or daughter after one. The humble earth ponies’ psychopomp, and the stories of her leading the departed to the endless green pastures of paradise were mostly forgotten, but she was still occasionally invoked to remind a proud pony of their mortality. Some of the cities and towns across Equestria were named after the gods and goddesses of old Equestria, before the reign of Discord. It chilled Twilight to the bone to think that her mentor, a mare she considered almost a second mother, was a goddess far more powerful than the any of the old legends. Or that Luna must have been just as powerful as Celestia. Twilight rolled over, looking away from the moon that reminded her of Luna, and all the opportunities she had missed to spend more time with and learn more about Luna. She wept there, for how the world went, and how the lives that passed touched her heart. Then she finally drifted to sleep. Twilight found herself in her old study in the Canterlot castle. It was dark outside, and the light of brightly shining stars poured in through the great window. As she came to her senses, she was captivated by the star fields. For a long while, she just sat there gazing at the stars in wonderment, not even thinking to use her telescope. She was enthralled enough without the use of any additional magnification. “They are quite lovely, are they not?” a familiar voice asked from behind her. Twilight quickly snapped out of her stupor, spinning around to see if her mind was paying tricks on her. Sure enough, Luna was sitting there on the throw pillows in the lounge below the observatory, examining the contents of Twilight’s bookshelves. “Luna!” Twilight cried ecstatically, racing down the stairs to Luna’s side. She nuzzled Luna affectionately, which Luna gladly returned. Luna’s mane felt like a cool summer night’s breeze as it brushed across her face. “It’s so good to see you again.” A sudden realization hit Twilight. Her spirits fell and a knot formed in her stomach. “This isn’t real,” she said gravely. “I’m dreaming aren’t I? You’re only a dream. It’s pity, I guess.” “I must say thou art faster than most in realizing it,” Luna chuckled, “Some never do. Of course thou art dreaming. But that does not mean this isn’t real.” “I don’t—” “Hush, my little pony. Just let me illuminate thee. When I say that it is never only a dream, I mean exactly that. The tapestry of dreams is as real as anything else. It is not the pallid shadow of the waking world, least of all when I am involved.” Twilight cocked an eyebrow, clearly confused. “Am I not the princess of the night, the fair moon that watches over ponies as they sleep? The world of dreams is as much mine home as the night sky.” Twilight sighed in frustration, “Look, I’d like to believe it. I really would. But dreams a fickle thing, and I almost never remember my dreams when I wake up. And I also know that dreams are deceptive. When we sleep, the judgmental faculties of our brains shut off, and we lose the ability to tell the difference between fact and fantasy.” “Of course we do. Though I find it quite amusing that thou art so passionately and so clearly arguing why thou can’t judge fact from fancy. I cannot convince thee, Twilight, that I am real. I know better than anyone how hard it is to communicate with ponies in their dreams. But I did not come to thee to try to tell thee anything. I came because thou art my friend. Perhaps my only friend, apart from my sister. Thou comforted me when I was alone and hurt, Twilight Sparkle. Thou alone tried to treat me as thy friend, and share fun and good cheer with me. Now I must do the same for thee. I have visited thy dream to comfort thee while in pain, because thou art my friend, and I suffer when I see thee suffer.” There was a long pause before Twilight responded. “W-was it that obvious?” “Yes. Not to everypony, but to thy friends, thou art an open book.” Luna hugged Twilight Sparkle close, squeezing the violet unicorn tightly to herself. Twilight squeezed back, and started sobbing. “There-there, Twilight,” Luna cooed, “just let it all out. I promise, it will make thee feel better in the morning.” “I’m so sorry, Luna,” Twilight cried. “We failed you. We failed you both. Now the whole world has lost you, all because Discord tricked us!” “No. Ye failed no one, Twilight Sparkle. Please, make sure all of thy friends know this. Ye all fought bravely, above and beyond the call of duty. Ye did all that could be done, and saved Equestria from suffering another one of Discord’s reigns. Do not blame your selves for the destruction of the Elements of Harmony, nor for our exile from the mortal plane.” Twilight felt her sorrow melting away. She didn’t care if it really was Luna or not. It felt real enough. Whether it was Luna herself telling her this, or her own subconscious, it didn’t matter it still was true. “Thank you,” Twilight replied, enjoying Luna’s warm embrace. “If it really is you, please tell Princess Celestia that I miss her, and that I love her.” “I will, Twilight Sparkle. Though she already knows it, she will want to hear it anyway. And she misses you too. Unfortunately, we cannot be here to guide you through the troubles you will face. But I cannot tell you how proud we are of you all. We are proud of the mares ye have grown up to be, and we trust you to do what is right, for each other and all of Equestria. They sat by each other in silence for a while on the throw pillows. Twilight curled up against Luna’s side, and Luna wrapped her wing around the smaller mare, holding her close. Finally, after what seemed like a blissful eternity, Twilight asked, “I’m not going to remember any of this when I wake up, am I?” “No, my little pony, thou won’t. But thou will feel better. But it’s time to wake up now, Twilight Sparkle…” “Time to wake up, Twilight Sparkle!” “Ugh… five more minutes,” Twilight groaned, trying to place a name to the voice trying to wake her. It wasn’t Luna anymore, it was…Pinkie Pie. But why was she thinking about Luna? That didn’t make any sense. There was a dim memory of the shadowy alicorn, but it disappeared as soon as she rolled over. “Twilight, you silly sleepy-head, get up!” Pinkie cried, more enthusiastically than before. “We’re almost to Canterlot. Get up! We’ve got a big day ahead of us!” After a moment of contemplation, Twilight finally crawled out from under the covers, and greeted the bright new morning. She stretched, feeling the warmth of the sun filtering through the windows. She felt calm and refreshed, and far less troubled than she had the previous night. She smiled, declaring, “Oh wow, it’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for you!” Author’s Note: Early modern English is hard to do properly, and I’d like to pre-emptively apologize for any confusion on the part of the reader.